Discover a boundless place of stillness, peace, and freedom within your body and mind through
Yoga and Zen.

Nourish yourself and celebrate the Memorial Day weekend by joining Samantha and Robert as we practice becoming intimate with the fundamental experience of our body as a way to realize our interconnectedness with everything around us.
The yoga will focus both on the immediacy of the present moment within a flow of asanas, and the experience of aliveness in the depth of restorative postures. Through a deeply satisfying yoga practice and informed by the expansive vision of Zen Buddhist teachings and meditation, together we will cultivate an open, receptive, and flexible mind and body.

As long-time practitioners of both yoga and Zen Buddhism, Samantha and Robert integrate yoga and Zen as complementary spiritual practices, supporting and guiding the group with a combination of yoga practice, sitting meditation, group exercises and discussion. The yoga practice will prepare your body and mind for meditation, and no experience is necessary. Everyone is welcome!

This retreat will begin with a yoga class at 4:00pm on Friday May 24 followed by dinner in the Green Gulch Dining room. We welcome you to arrive before this time to get settled in your room and discover the beauty of Green Gulch Farm. Our time together will come to a close at 11:30am on Monday May 27.

Fees: $240, $192 current SFZC members. Please note that the retreat fee does not include accommodations. Accommodations at Green Gulch.
Registration and Overnight Accommodations: To register and to reserve accommodations, call our toll free number 888.743.9362 or our local number 415.475.9362.

Related Bio(s):

Samantha Ostergaard Samantha Ostergaard is a Zen student and yoga teacher who has used yoga to support her zazen practice for almost fifteen years. Her teaching of yoga is deeply influenced by Zen Buddhism, and in her retreats she teaches yoga as a meditative practice of paying close attention to the body, the breath, and the mental and emotional processes. Samantha lived and practiced at Tassajara for three years, receiving lay ordination from Zoketsu Norman Fischer in 2000.

Do-On Robert ThomasAt age 34, Do-On Robert Thomas stumbled into a Buddhist monastery in the forests of Thailand and began his Buddhist life. Today, his kind and thoughtful presence is the result of a 20-year commitment to Zen Buddhism, including six years of intensive meditation at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, America’s first Zen monastery. He was ordained as a Buddhist priest in 2000 and received dharma transmission from his Zen teacher, Zoketsu Norman Fischer, in 2009. As a dharma teacher, Robert leads meditation retreats and workshops and gives public lectures throughout the year. He thrives in facilitating engaging explorations of Buddhist ideas and practices as they apply to real-life issues. He was president of San Francisco Zen Center from 2005 to 2013, and is currently a visiting teacher at the Upaya Zen Center in New Mexico. Since 1993 he has traveled extensively, studying Buddhism in Thailand, Burma, India and Nepal.